Themes

Architecture of Hollandsche Bank-Unie

Offices of Hollandsche Bank-Unie in São Paulo, Brazil, on Rua 15 de Novembro 150, in 1954.

Although no official guidelines for the architects have been preserved, HBU's directors were obviously intensely involved in the design of new branch buildings. It is a recurring theme in the minutes of the board of directors, whenever the construction of a new bank is discussed. HBU was a publicity-conscious organisation and its buildings served as a form of advertisement.

Prominent places such as squares and crossroads were favourite locations, as were strategic sites in local business areas and new shopping centres. There was clearly a dominant architectural style: stark, mainly vertical lines, a symmetrical and plain façade with none of the traditional bank decorations such as symbols of trade, industry or shipping, just the name and logo of the bank displayed prominently at the front of the building, sometimes even in the pavement outside the entrance, and if possible in an illuminated sign. By contrast to these moderhbun designs, the grand, massive and impregnable appearance of HBU's other branches was set against the more traditional buildings of their surroundings, while the stone facing lent a sense of wealth and solidity. One or two branches went as far as to carve their capital and reserve in the actual façade.

An exception was the head office in Amsterdam, situated amid the finest houses on Herengracht, on the canal's so-called Golden Bend. Between 1920 and 1992 the bank directed its activities from this series of 17th- and 18th-century houses, which had been purchased over the years and internally adapted. This was a deliberate policy. The buildings retained their "distinguished appearance and conjured up memories of bygone days of Amsterdam's glorious past", the HBU brochure noted in 1946. The traditional atmosphere of the premises symbolised "the tried and trusted conservative policy which should be the hallmark of every modern banking business." The building was the bank's flagship. For years it adorned the covers of annual reports, folders and brochures.

Since 1992 Erasmushuis on Rotterdam's Coolsingel, designed by the famous architect W.M. Dudok, has been Hollandsche Bank-Unie's head office. Although it was built in 1939 and is now surrounded by new, taller buildings, it has retained its monumental grandeur. The building features prominently in books on architecture and travel guides, as well as in the bank's promotional publications, including the website. In this it continues a long-standing HBU tradition.